Medicare Reimbursement Information III
Today, we will focus on hospital care outside of the traditional Inpatient hospital care setting. Again, this information is culled from MedPAC reports. Outpatient Hospital Services Outpatient hospital...
View ArticleMedicare Regional Variation in Service Use may be Exaggerated
Regional differences in the cost of health care are due to differences in both the price and volume of medical care. Since, Medicare sets prices, there should be little variation in prices…right?...
View ArticleMedPAC’s 2011 Home Health Reform Recommendations
In 2009, 3.3 million Medicare beneficiaries used home health. In the past few years, the home health expenditure growth rate has outpaced Medicare spending in all other areas. This finding is likely...
View ArticleMedPAC’s Analysis of Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities
Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRF) provide rehabilitation to invidiuals recovering from serious illnesses such as strokes or hip replacements. Today I review MedPAC’s analysis of Medicare...
View ArticleMedicare Payment Adequacy
How do policymakers determine if Medicare payment levels are adequate? The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) uses the following criteria: Access to care determined by the number of...
View ArticleMedPAC’s Home Health Recommendations
In their latest 2011, MedPAC made four recommendations to alter payment policy in the home health setting. These include the following: The Secretary, with the Office of Inspector General, should...
View ArticleNew Legislation affecting Medicare Hospital Payments
Recent Legislation CMS completed its implementation of Medicare severity–diagnosis related groups (MS–DRGs) and cost-based relative weights in FY 2009. TMA, Abstinence Education, and QI Programs...
View ArticleSkilled Nursing Facilities
Today I summarize recent trends in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) as outlined in MedPAC’s 2011 Report to Congress. SNFs furnish short-term skilled nursing and rehabilitation services to...
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